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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Writing Tip #2: Tell the voice "Leave, and never come back!"

You know the voice I'm talking about? No, no, not the ones that belong to your characters. But the OTHER voice. The one that says things like "Quit now." and "You'll never succeed," and "Why bother? You're horrible at this," I'm talking about the voice that tells you to give up. I'm talking about the voice that doesn't believe in you. That voice? Yeah I want you to treat that voice the same way Smeagol talks to Gollum.

You know this conversation from the movie? Here, let me refresh your memory:

Gollum: “You don’t
have any friends, nobody likes you!”

Smeagol: “I’m not
listening, I’m not listening.”

Gollum: “You’re a
liar and a thief.”

Smeagol: “No!”

Gollum: “Mur-der-er.”

Smeagol: “Go away!”

Gollum: “Go away?” *Insert Gollum laugh here*

Smeagol: *Insert
Smeagol crying* “I hate you, I hate you!”

Gollum: “Where would you be without me? Gollum! Gollum saved
us! It was me! We survived because of me!”

Smeagol: *Smeagol
crying stops* “Not anymore.”

Gollum: “What did you say?”

Smeagol: “Master looks after us now, we don’t need you
anymore. Leave now, and never come back!”

Gollum: “What?”

Smeagol: “LEAVE NOW AND NEVER COME BACK!” (Repeat 2x)

Now pretend this conversation is happening between you and that little voice:

Evil voice: “You don’t
have any talent, nobody likes your writing!”

You: “I’m not
listening, I’m not listening.”

Evil Voice: “You’re a
horrible writer.”

You: “No!”

Evil voice: “Word killer.”

You: “Go away!”

Evil voice : “Go away?” *Insert Gollum Evil voice laugh
here*

You: *Insert Smeagol
you crying* “I hate you, I hate you!”

Evil voice: “Where would you be without me? Gollum! Gollum
Evil voice saved us! It was me! We survived because of me!”

You: *Smeagol your crying
stops* “Not anymore.”

Evil Voice: “What did you say?”

You: “Master I look after us me now, we
I don’t need you anymore. Leave now, and never come back!”

Evil Voice: “What?”

You: “LEAVE NOW AND NEVER COME BACK!” (Repeat 2x)

Don't listen to the little voice! Send it away and tell it to never come back!
Because you are good enough, and you can do this!